FIFA bans Luis Suarez for 9 matches

Uruguay's Luis Suarez holds his teeth during the 2014 World Cup Group D soccer match between Uruguay and Italy at the Dunas arena in Natal June 24, 2014. Italy's Giorgio Chiellini accused Suarez of biting his shoulder. (REUTERS/Yves Herman)

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Morris Dalla Costa, QMI Agency

Jun 27, 2014

, Last Updated: 9:20 AM ET

FIFA has come down hard on Uruguay's Luis Suarez -- the man the soccer world is now calling The Cannibal -- by taking a big bite out of his soccer future.

FIFA announced that Suarez will be suspended for nine games and will also be given a four-month suspension from any football-related activity for having bitten Italian Giorgio Chiellini during a World Cup game Tuesday.

That ban will impact his ability to play professional football at the club level and has ended his World Cup.

Suarez was also banned from participating in any "administrative" activity during those four months. Suarez was likely to be transferred from Liverpool but it appears this will not affect his ability to move between clubs.

He could miss up to 13 games with Liverpool, nine of them during the Premier League season and three in the Champions League.

Suarez was also banned from entering the confines of any stadium during the period of the ban and fined $120,000 CDN.

"Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field," said Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.

Adidas, a major sponsor that uses Suarez in their ad campaigns, issued a statement on the situation.

Adidas "fully supports FIFA's decision" and will not use Suarez for any more marketing purposes during the World Cup.

"We will again be reminding him of the high standards we expect from our players," added the company. "We will discuss all aspects of our future partnership directly with Suarez and his team."

Uruguayan officials will appeal the ban.

FIFA launched an investigation, and an independent disciplinary panel confirmed the punishment.

The incident leading to the ban occurred in the final group game for both teams. Chiellini and Suarez came together in front of the Italian net. Chiellini suddenly went down holding his shoulder while Suarez went down and came up holding his teeth.

Chiellini jumped up exposing his shoulder, which zoomed-in images appear to show three puncture marks.

Uruguay went on to win the game 1-0, eliminating Italy.

Uruguay is in Natal preparing for its Round of 16 game against Colombia on Saturday.

In 2010, Suarez was banned for seven matches by the Netherlands football federation after biting PSV Eindhoven player Otman Bakkal while Suarez was with Ajax.

After moving to Liverpool, he bit Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in 2013 and was banned for 10 games.

FIFA's disciplinary standard sets a maximum ban of 24 matches or two years. The longest suspension FIFA has imposed for an offence at a World Cup was eight games for Italy's Mauro Tassotti for breaking Spain's Luis Enrique's nose in 1994.

It doesn't really matter what kind of evidence the world produces -- Uruguay refuses to accept any of it.

Everyone from the country's football association to their president is building a massive conspiracy theory accusing mostly England, Italy and the media of attempting to get Suarez suspended because he is such a great player.

Local media have lashed out at a British-led "manhunt" against him, and even president Jose Mujica threw in his two pesos worth asking for Suarez to be left alone.

Mujica phoned coach Oscar Tabarez after the announcement of the suspension to express his "solidarity" with Suarez and was planning to hold a meeting with a minister later Thursday to discuss "options" following the ban, Subrayado TV channel reported.

Earlier, the president absolved Suarez of whatever he did.

"We didn't choose him to be a philosopher, or a mechanic, or to have good manners -- he's a great player," said Mujica.

In many ways the incident and the controversy surrounding it are like a comedy skit.

Uruguay captain Diego Lugano accused the British media of persecuting his teammate and called the incident "totally irrelevant."

"What incident? Which incident? I don't know what incident you're talking about," Lugano said when asked by a British journalist about the "Suarez incident".

"Are you talking about the (English) Premier League or the national team? Do you have a score to settle?"

The journalist tried to explain himself in English but he was told the press conference was in Spanish.